In The Darkness
by BreakBeauty
Summary: Elia is just a typical teenager, living in a boring little town when one day, a mass of strange creatures attack her and steal her heart. I'll go back and fix the author's notes later. .-.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING, save this plot and any OC's that end up in it. :D  
This is just a re-written beginning to the story I posted before, Screaming. I didn't really like the way it started out, so I decided to try it again, with some help.

Elia jumped and fell off her bed, waking with a start. "Stupid alarm clock…" she muttered, switching off the infernal contraption. She looked at the clock's face, which read 7:45 A.M. in purple block letters. "Oh, crap! I'm gonna be late!" She ran out of her room and into the bathroom, but not without slipping on the wooden floors a couple times. Elia, well, she wasn't so great on her feet in the mornings.

About ten minutes later, a drippy, more awake Elia stepped back into her bedroom. "Now, what to wear…" She strode over to her closet and began browsing. "AHA! Perfect!" She pulled out a plain purple t-shirt and black skinny jeans. She donned her favorite, ripped-to-shreds black Chucks. "Hair…hair…OH!" She ran back to the bathroom and pulled the towel off her head. She grabbed her brush and set to work, parting and fixing her hair just the way she liked it. She smiled at the reflection.

She ran back to her room to grab her cell phone and her book bag, which she lazily slung over her shoulder. She trotted down the stairs, almost tripping and falling, and said a quick good-bye to her mother before walking out the door. It was only about a ten-minute walk to school, so she didn't mind it. It was a nice day, anyway.

When she got to school, she was tackle-hugged by her best friend, Ari. "ELI! I missed you, girlie!" her friend squealed.

"Hey, Ari! Haha, I missed ya, too. Now, could you get off me?" Elia laughed.

"Oh, right. Sorry!" Ari replied, standing up. She gave Elia her very best 'you can't be mad at me because I'm your best friend and you love me' look, and it worked. "So, how was your weekend?"

"Eh, it was alright. I didn't do anything too spectacular. You?" Elia answered.

"I didn't really do much either, but it was still fun!" the bubbly girl replied.

"You always have fun, don't ya Ari?" Elia mused.

"Mhm!" Ari nodded. Then, the bell rang and the two girls walked to their first class together, chatting about nothing in particular.

After school, Elia started home on her usual route. About halfway to her house, she saw a group of people who appeared to be very drunk. Knowing better than to go near, she took a detour down an alleyway. Whilst walking down the alley, a loud noise made the presence of something else apparent. Elia wheeled around, ready to face whatever it was. All she saw was an empty bottle, so she turned around and kept walking.

Suddenly, she felt a painful slash across her back. She jumped forward, turning toward the back in the process. She saw a strange, black little creature with bright yellow eyes. She screamed and ran the other way, desperately hoping to escape the thing. When she got to the end of the alley, there were two more of the little black things. She figured she'd have to fight her way past, so she grabbed the nearest available weapon—a piece of re-bar. Weapon in hand, she swung at the creatures, catching one in the side. It was tossed aside, and she swung again. The second blocking her path flew to the other side, and she ran for it, tossing her weapon aside. She didn't stop to check if the attackers were following her, she just ran to her house. Once inside, she locked the door and ran up to her room. She tossed her bag down in the corner and plopped down on her bed. "What a weird experience… I wonder what those things were…" She slowly closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

_She was in a dark city. The sky was dark, the buildings and roads dark, the very air itself seemed dark. She looked up at the moon, which was a giant, bright heart. Partially blocking the moon was a large castle. She felt some strange, urgent need to go to the castle. She started off in what she thought was the correct direction to land her at its doors._

Elia woke, once again, by falling off her bed. However, the alarm wasn't going off. She looked at the clock, whose face read 6:38 P.M. "I guess I fell asleep…" She stood up and walked down the hallway to the stairs. Her mother was cooking pizza for dinner. "Hey, Mom, that smells amazing!" she called as she walked down the stairs.

"Thank you, honey! It'll be ready in just a few minutes," her mother responded. Elia sat down at the table, anxiously awaiting the deliciously-scented food. "Oh, Eli, I almost forgot! I need you to run out and check the mail for me, hon. I'm expecting a very important letter. Could you do that really quickly?"

"Sure! No problem, Mom!" Elia jumped up out of her seat and jogged to the community's mailbox. It was rather dark outside, and she couldn't find the right key to get the mail. She was fumbling with the keyring when she heard a noise behind her, which startled her, causing her to drop the keys on the ground.

"Who's there?" she asked nervously while reaching down to retrieve her keys. A burning sensation slashed itself across her leg and she jumped. She left the keys on the ground and took off toward home for the second time that day. However, she cursed the fates as more of the little black creatures appeared in her path. This time, however, there weren't just the plain black creatures. There were several different kinds of the black-thing-with-yellow-eyes, and they all seemed to be closing in on her. "Oh, why didn't I bring that re-bar with me?" she yelled at herself, desperately trying to outrun the attackers.

She made it to her driveway before tripping on a ledge in the concrete. "Really? Now, of all times? MOM! HELP ME!" she screamed. She heard her mother's voice screaming something she couldn't make out, and the door flew open.

"ELIA! Hold on, honey, I'm coming!" her mother shouted, running towards the girl. More slashing sensations made themselves known, and she screamed. The demonic, or so she had begun to think of them, things were swarming over her, clawing and lashing at her. One of them leaned over her torso, slashing at her rib-cage. She yelled in pain, but the thing didn't stop. It kept ripping and tearing at her, and she felt a claw jab between her ribs, probably puncturing something. She kept screaming, no matter how much it hurt. She suddenly made the realization that after they were done with her, they would go after her mother, too.

"Mom! Go inside! I don't want them to hurt you!" she yelled.

"I won't leave you!" her mother cried, frozen to the spot.

"Just go, please!" Elia cried. Her mother nodded and ran inside, locking the door. She stayed at the window, sobbing visibly. The creature hit something incredibly painful, and Elia screamed again in pain. She started coughing and spewed up blood. She could feel the warm, sticky liquid gushing out of her, and things started to go fuzzy. Elia screamed in pain one last time when she felt the little demon-creature's claws grasp her heart. Everything faded to black.

So, that was a bit longer than I thought it'd be. Please, review and tell me what you thought! I'd love to read your comments, and some constructive criticism is welcomed as well. I think I'm off to start the next chapter! Thanks for reading:D

UPDATE- March 6, 2010: So I made some slight changes in the text, and broke the really long paragraphs into pieces. Enjoy. :]

Update..again..-March 25, 2011: Sooooo….I'm not promising anything. I've just kinda had an urge to work on this the last couple days, and I've had free time. Once again I'm going to read through and see what has happened so far. And I changed her name to Elia instead of Dexia. Not diggin that one. Anyway, I'll continue on this and see where we get! C: [Also, thank you to any faithful readers who still have interest in this story, and welcome to any newcomers. C: ]


	2. Chapter 2

So… Here I go to write another chapter… Wish me luck! :D

On a side note… "Cuz I'm Slim Shady, yes I'm the real Shady! All you other Slim Shadies are just imitating. So, won't the real Shady please stand up? Please stand up." [Sorry… iTunes=on shuffle ^^]

Also! I don't quite remember what the outside of the castle looks like, so please don't murder me…

The girl woke up, entire body aching, feeling delusional. She tried to speak, but her voice stuck in her throat. Silently exhaling, the girl got to her feet with an immense effort.

Once up, she took a look at her surroundings. She was in a dark city. The sky was dark, the buildings and roads dark, the very air itself seemed dark. She looked up at the moon, which was a giant, bright heart. Partially blocking the moon was a large castle. She felt some strange, urgent need to go to the castle. She started off in what she thought was the correct direction to land her its doors. Though the girl remembered nothing, this scene felt strangely familiar.

She wound through the streets, completely unaware of where this strange feeling was taking her. She stared at the ground, trusting her feet to lead her in the right direction. When she looked up, she saw the castle looming before her. She slowly walked up the path toward the entryway when a large purple and black mass erupted in front of her. She jumped back, yelping silently, and took a defensive position. She stared at the mass and watched as it slowly took the shape of a portal-type thing and a hooded figure in a black cloak stepped out.

The figure took no notice of the girl and walked up the steps. She tried to yell out to the retreating figure, but she still couldn't find her voice. She dropped her stance and walked behind the cloaked stranger, being as silent as she could. She followed the cloak until they came to the main doors of the large castle, into which the stranger went.

The girl stood there nervously, wondering what she should do. She figured she would just stay outside the castle until she could remember who she was, until someone found her, or until she could speak. Whichever came first would do. So, she lay down on the ground and closed her eyes, trying to remember something. She found she couldn't bring anything back, so she sat up and leaned against the castle wall.

Suddenly, she saw another black and purple mass, and watched intently as it revealed yet another cloaked figure. This time, the figure took off the hood and revealed a man with bluish silver hair. The girl couldn't help but stare and wonder who he was. The man must have sensed her looking at him, because he turned and looked her straight in the eye. She averted from his gaze and noticed a large scar on his face in the shape of an X.

"You there, what are you doing here?" the man called. The girl pointed to her mouth, shaking her head "no". The man walked angrily over to her and grabbed her by the arm, yanking her up. She gasped, without a sound, at the harsh contact. The man dragged her through the castle doors, with her kicking and screaming silently. She willed her voice to return, but for some reason her efforts came up fruitless. She was pulled through a great many corridors until they came to a room with large double doors. The man dropped her to the ground and knocked on the door, keeping an eye on her.

"Come in," an irritated voice said, and the man once again seized her up by her arm and pulled her through the door. She saw a man with bright silver hair and piercing gold eyes which held no emotion. "Saïx, what is so important that you must disturb me?" the second man demanded without looking at the girl.

"Superior, I found this girl sitting outside the castle," the first man, whose name she found was Saïx, replied, throwing her to the ground at the feet of the second man.

"Who are you?" the man demanded. Once again, the girl pointed to her mouth and shook her head. "I demand an answer, girl, or I will not hesitate to strike you."

Frantically, the girl tried her hardest to scream, speak, whisper, anything, but only silence came. She looked hesitantly at the man, unsure if he understood that she had no voice. His response consisted of back handing her on the cheek, knocking her back a few feet. She grunted silently and sat up.

"I still expect an answer," the man said, sounding irritated.

The girl had an idea and made a motion trying to ask for a pen and paper. The man seemed to understand. "Saïx, fetch me a pen and a notebook." The other man complied, handing the valuable tools to the girl. She wrote furiously, trying to scrawl out her message before she was hit again. When she was done, she handed the notebook to the man.

"So, you don't know who you are, you can't speak, and you remember nothing before you woke up here? Am I understanding this correctly?" the man asked her. She nodded in the affirmative. The man sighed and turned to Saïx. "Take her to a room and keep her there until we figure out what to do with her."

"Yes, Superior," Saïx replied before reaching to grab her arm again. The girl flinched, but didn't back away.

"And Saïx, grant her a little dignity, if you would," the other man called. Saïx took his arm off her and the girl shakily stood, following him down more hallways. He led her to an unmarked door which led to an empty room.

"We'll have a bed and other necessities sent to you shortly," he said, curtly. She nodded her understanding and attempted to convey thanks before the man stalked out of the room. The girl walked slowly to a corner of the room and slumped down to the floor. She closed her eyes and drifted off into sleep, hoping to possibly remember something in her dreams.

Sorry it's kind of short. I felt this was an appropriate place to end this chapter, though. So far, in the two chapters, I've gotten zero feedback. I'd appreciate some reviews, be they suggestions, constructive criticism, anything I guess. I hope you're enjoying reading this as much as I am writing it. :D

UPDATE- March 6, 2010: Once again, I did some slight rewording and broke the large paragraphs into smaller pieces. Enjoy. :]

Update..again..-March 25, 2011: Yeah, changed one little thing.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: First off, I would like to thank two amazing people. One, who reads my stories basically before anyone else gets to, (he knows who he is), and the other who is giving me great ideas for this (he knows who he is also). Review replies! :D  
*NinjaSheik: Thank you:] I sort of thought that everything was all smashed together, but, if I remember correctly (which I may not, but I have no idea…), you don't have to change paragraphs until another character speaks. :]  
*Getsemone: Yay! I love that song, heh… Anyway, she can't talk as of yet, but I may change that. I thought that, since Xemnas is a major antagonist and all, he'd be a pretty mean guy. I appreciate the compliment about my characters! I work really hard to give them distinct personalities, and I'm gonna go a few (hundred, ha) extra miles for this one, as will be seen in later chapters.  
Okay, on to the story! :D  
WAIT! Okay, sorry if Xion seems out of character in this. I haven't had the chance to play 358/2 Days yet, so I don't know a whole lot about her. The second person mentioned in the thanks list insisted that I add her in, even though I don't know a whole lot about her character. So, NOW on to the story:D

The girl's eyes flew open and she sucked in a breath. She looked around at the stark white room, now seeing a bed against one wall. She pushed herself up and walked cautiously over to the bed. She pressed one hand onto the mattress, as if testing it to make sure there wasn't a trap. Satisfied, she kicked off her shoes and lay down. Comfort had just begun to return to her when there was a sharp knocking on the door, which opened moments later. In the doorway stood Saïx, giving her the same cold, emotionless stare as before.

"The Superior instructed that I check in to make sure you haven't run off. Food will be brought to you shortly," he said harshly before striding out of the room and closing the door.

The girl sighed silently, wondering to herself if she was ever going to be treated like a normal human being, not that anything at all seemed normal about this place. Another knocking sound jarred her from her pondering, but this time the door didn't open. The girl got up and walked to the door. She tried turning the handle, but it was locked. Instead, she knocked on the door to let the visitor know they could come in. She stepped back, allowing the door room to open, and a girl, a couple years younger than she, stepped into the room, carrying a tray of food.

"Uh, hi… I'm Xion. Saïx told me to bring this to you…" the other girl said, offering the tray. The current resident of the room accepted it, setting it down on the bed. "So, what's your name?"

The girl thought for a moment, trying to remember. After a while, she just shrugged.

Xion gasped. "You don't know your own name? Oh, that must be terrible!"

The girl's response was another shrug.

"What, can't you speak?"

The girl simply shook her head "no".

"XION! WHAT IS TAKING YOU SO LONG?" a voice yelled from somewhere in the castle.

"I'm sorry, I have to go. I'll come back and visit you sometime, okay?" Xion asked, smiling slightly.

The girl nodded her head, slightly smiling as well. It felt nice to have some sort of non-negative contact with… whatever outside world happened to be here. Xion slipped out the door and closed it, leaving the girl alone once again. She walked over to the bed and sat down, picking up the tray of food. The delicious scent of chicken fried steak wafted itself up into her nose and her stomach growled. The girl jumped, startled at the first noise she ever remembered hearing from her own body. After taking a moment to collect herself, she ate the food hungrily.

The girl didn't know how long she had been in that room. Her next meal was delivered by a figure that never took off their hood or spoke to her, as was the following meal. The next time her door was knocked upon, however, the figure motioned for her to come out. She hesitated, not knowing what to expect, but followed, desperate for a reason to leave the room. She was led through a hallway and down some stairs and into a large white, tiled room.

"This is the restroom. The showers are to the left. There should be soaps already there. You'll find a towel and clothes outside the shower stall. When you're ready to be escorted back to your room, knock twice on the door. I'll be waiting," the cloaked person said. The hood covered a female voice, the girl noticed.

She walked over to the left and showered, almost wondering what was on the right side of the room. When she felt refreshed, she reached for the towel and stepped out to dry off. She looked at the clothes, which were a simple black T-shirt, black sweat pants, and black moccasins that were fuzzy on the inside. She donned the clothing, silently wondering where to leave her own. She carried it with her to the counter and set it down to look in the mirror. She almost hesitated, because she had no idea what she'd look like.

To her surprise, her face was very pale. She had big, violet eyes and black hair reaching to her middle back. She noticed that, when looking from the right angle, the light reflected off her hair giving it a purple tint. She examined her features. Her face was slender and angular, coming to almost a point at her chin. Her eyebrows were thin and arced upwards. Her cheekbones were high and her nose was small, yet prominent. Her lips were somewhat full and had almost no color to them. She took a last look at her reflection, making a mental note to remember what she looked like from now on. She picked up her things and walked to the door, knocking twice. The figure led her back to her room and left.

The girl walked to the bed and lay down, pulling the blankets over her and drifting off quickly into sleep.

_A girl was running. The Heartless were chasing her, almost having almost caught her. She turned toward a house when suddenly, she tripped and fell to the ground and was swarmed by Heartless. She started screaming, and a woman ran out the door, staring in horror at the sight before her. The girl yelled again, and the woman ran inside. The screaming continued as the Heartless were clawing at her, trying to take her heart. Finally, with one last scream, the sacred organ was ripped from her body and held up in a victory stance by the Heartless. The heart is consumed and the Heartless continue on their journey for more hearts. However, the particular little beast that stole her life stayed back, as if examining its kill. After a moment, the dark being scampered off, leaving the scene empty, save the mangled body and the stench of pooling blood._

A loud knocking woke the girl from her sleep. Sitting up, she rubbed the grogginess out of her eyes. The door opened, revealing yet another hooded figure.

"Come with me," the voice of a male said in a slight British accent. The girl did as commanded, slipping on her shoes as she walked out the door. The cloaked man summoned a dark portal and ushered her through. He stepped in front of her and led her down a dark, unseen path. She saw a light up ahead, which the man was headed straight toward. Once they reached it, her jaw nearly dropped. They were in a large, white, cylindrical room with thirteen thrones, each of which was illogically tall. None of them, she noticed, were the same height. All of the thrones were empty, but she had an instinctive notion that they'd soon be filled. Soon, many dark portals appeared, one by one. She wondered what was going to happen.

Okay, so once again, I apologize for a short chapter. I just felt like this was a good place to stop. Not to mention, it was 4:11 in the morning and I was tired when I wrote this. So, please send me feedback! :D

UPDATE- March 6, 2010: Again, some slight rewording and I broke up the large paragraph about looking in the mirror. Enjoy. :]

Update..again..-March 25, 2011: I don't think I did anything. O.o


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I would like to thank Getsemone and NinjaSheik once again for their fantastic reviews! :D

The girl looked around, not quite nervously, wondering just what kinds of people would step out of the dark, swirling masses. The cloaked figure that brought her here had taken a place upon one of the large thrones. Several more cloak-and-hood wearing people entered, their respective portals vanishing into mist. The girl watched in awe as they each ascended their thrones. To the tallest throne ascended a figure who then removed the hood from its head, revealing the man that Saïx referred to as "Superior", the same man who had hit her. She instantly felt a small pang of fear, but she fought it off. She watched as all thirteen of the large seats were filled.

"I'm sure you're all wondering why I've called you here," the "Superior" began. "Well, as I'm certain you can all see, we have a guest." She suddenly felt several pairs of eyes scrutinizing her, studying every aspect of her. She wanted to disappear away from the analytical gazes. "Do any of you know who this young woman is?"

"No," came a chorus of voices, startling the girl.

The "Superior" sighed, obviously irritated. "Very well then." The man turned his attention to the girl. "I'm assuming you still haven't found your voice?"

The girl shook her head "no".

A pen and notebook appeared before her, which she took. "Have you remembered anything at all?"

The girl scrawled a large "no" on the page and showed it to him.

The man let out another sigh. "Vexen," he started, turning his attention to one of the cloaked figures, "please examine this young woman. I need to know who she is and if she's anything like all of us here." The cloaked figure nodded, descending from his throne. "Saïx, accompany them and be sure nothing goes wrong." Another one of the figures nodded and descended from the throne. The first figure summoned a portal and the girl didn't hesitate this time to step through. The two cloaked figures followed her. They exited the darkness just where she had entered it with the British-accented man. She was led halfway down the hall, to the left, down some stairs, and to a large door. The first cloaked figure opened the door, ushering her inside. She stepped into the room, amazed at all the whirring machinery and bubbling liquids. The two figures each pulled off their hoods behind her.

"Now, miss, I need you to sit on this bench," a man with long blonde hair said, startling her. She sat on the bench, stoically awaiting whatever came next. "Open your eyes as wide as you can." She complied and the man turned a lamp to shine into her eyes, causing her to blink. "Try and keep your eyes open, or this'll be a much longer and painful process than it needs to be," he said. She fought to keep her eyes open while he examined them.

"I think her eyes are fine, Vexen. On to what we both know is the information the Superior is after," Saïx barked. The blonde man rolled his eyes.

"Very well then. Now, miss, I need to see your chest," he said, with hesitation. Her eyes opened even wider, nervousness making itself known. She hesitantly pulled down the collar of her shirt, careful not to reveal anything inappropriate, and closed her eyes. "My, my, that's quite a scar you've got there. Do you have any idea how you obtained it?" he asked. She looked down, and there was a large, jagged scar running down her sternum. Her head shot back up and she vigorously shook her head "no", releasing her collar so it popped back into place.

"Hmm…" Saïx muttered.

She was lost in thought about the hideous scar and how it may have gotten there when she felt a small, circular pressure on the left side of her chest. She gasped silently in surprise, looking at the strange man, who had a stethoscope pressed where her heart resided. She felt the pressure abate suddenly, though she hadn't seen the man's arm move. His eyes widened with shock.

"What did you just do?" he asked her, surprised. The girl looked down to see that her torso was merely a shadow. It was visible, but dark and translucent. Her eyes widened as well. She shrugged her shoulders violently, showing she had no idea what happened. As suddenly as she felt the pressure leave, it returned, and her torso was solid again.

"My word, that was strange. Saïx, please go inform the Superior that I'll be needing a word with him shortly." Saïx nodded and left the room. The blonde man turned back to the girl. He examined her throat, and instructed her to open her mouth so he could look inside. She heard the blonde muttering to himself, though she couldn't make out actual words. "Alright, I'm done. Come with me, now," he said as he was walking briskly to his door. Once outside the strange room, he led her through more of the castle, ending up outside the room the girl had been dragged to and slapped in. She held her breath as the man knocked on the door.

"Come in, Vexen," the seeming leader's voice said from inside the door. Vexen nodded and ushered the girl inside. The "Superior" waited at a large desk. "Now, what do you need to discuss with me? The others are still waiting."

"Superior, before I give you my report, I need to inform you of some urgent matters privately," Vexen began.

"Very well. After your report, we will converse. Please, tell me about this young woman," the silver-haired man replied.

"Superior, as you had suspected, this girl is a Nobody," the man said. The girl glared at him indignantly, but he paid her no mind. "She has no heartbeat, and there's a scar that indicates it was taken by Heartless." The girl suddenly remembered the dream she had before being so rudely awakened. That girl… was that her? Those creatures were, Heartless? This was all very confusing. All the thoughts swimming in her mind caused her to forget the little disappearing-torso incident during her examination.

"So I see," the man behind the desk responded. "By the look on her face, I think she remembered something." She just nodded slowly. "Vexen, do you know why she can't speak? I'm getting rather tired of non-verbal responses."

"I found no outwardly visible signs of trauma, but upon closer inspection, I've determined that her vocal chords underwent incredible stress. I've just the medicine to clear it up, if you wish," Vexen replied.

"Good," the "Superior" replied. "Let us head back to the Place Where Nothing Gathers." The three of them exited the room and stepped into another portal leading to the large white room. The girl walked a ways ahead of the two men, upon orders from Vexen. She could hear them whispering about something, but they were too quiet for her to decipher.

Once the three reached the end of the portal, the two men ascended their respective thrones, leaving the girl to stand awkwardly in the middle of the room, amidst all the stares. "Now, after examination from Vexen, this girl has been found to be a Nobody," the silver headed man started. She felt all the eyes on her widen just slightly, causing her to shrink back. "Upon further information, I've decided we should keep her around and determine just how, useful, she'll be to our cause. Should she prove promising, I'm sure we can… persuade… her to join our ranks." The man laughed, a creepy and bone-chilling sound. "You all are dismissed. Vexen, please fix the young lady's voice, as a mute will be of no use to us here."

"Yes, Superior," Vexen replied. He descended to the floor and opened up a portal, motioning for the girl to go through. She entered the portal, knowing where they'd end up. Once inside his strange room, Vexen pulled out a blue liquid in a vial from the refrigerator. He extended the vial to her and said, "Drink this. It'll make your voice come back." She took the vial and eyed it cautiously. Did she really want to join whatever these people were doing? She smelled the liquid. It smelled… well, she didn't really know. She drank the strange substance and her face twisted and her eye twitched at how sour it was. Vexen let out a chuckle. "Sorry… I suppose I should have warned you. The medicine will take a few hours to work, so I'll take you back to your room and have some food sent to you." He led her out the door and back to her room, where she sighed silently and collapsed on the bed.

Surely enough, a knock sounded through the room and her door opened shortly thereafter, revealing Xion. The girl smiled, seeing her only semi-friend in this whole place.

"Hi! I brought you some food," the other said cheerily. She kicked the door closed and placed the tray down on the bed and sat. "So, I hear you should be getting your voice back soon."

The girl with the violet eyes just nodded.

"I look forward to talking to you!" Xion said, smiling. "Well, I have to go now, but I'll see you later!" And with that, Xion was out the door. The girl ate the food happily and curled up on her bed to sleep for a while.

_"Hey, Elia, do you wanna come over later and play some DDR?" a bright-eyed girl asked a dark-haired girl, who was looking down at the ground._

"_I can't… I'm grounded," the other replied glumly. "I would if I could, though." She looked up at her friend through bluish purple eyes. _

"_Oh… okay. Well, maybe next weekend?" the first girl asked, still hopeful._

"_Sure!" the girl called Elia replied happily. "I'll be there! Prepared to get your butt handed to you!"_

"_Ha! Like you could really beat me, Eli!" the bright-eyed girl laughed._

"_Come on, Ari, I always beat you!" Eli laughed back. They continued in a playfully mocking banter._

"What?" a raspy, strained voice wondered aloud. The girl sat up, shocked at the sound. She looked around, but saw no one. She suddenly had a thought. "Hello." she tried to say, and the same voice came out. Her eyes widened. She had a voice…again? Had she had a voice before? It didn't really matter now, she supposed. She had one now! But, she still didn't know who she was… "Well, that's one obstacle overcome, several more to go," she mused to herself in her new-found voice. The more she used it, the easier it came out. She heard knocking on her door and responded, "Come in!"

"Oh my goodness! You can talk now!" Xion shouted. She ran over to her new-found friend and gave her a hug, despite the tray of food in her arms. "So what's it like?"

"A little weird, really," the girl, who still had no name, replied. "It'll take some getting used to."

"I can imagine so," Xion laughed. The other laughed, as well. They heard footsteps walking up to the door, followed by knocking on the doorframe.

"Hey, Xion, whatcha doin?" a young man asked. His hair was a cross between a Mohawk and a mullet.

"Talking to, uh, her," Xion replied, albeit awkwardly. It was such a hassle not having a name…

"Oh. Hi! I'm Demyx! Nice to meet ya!" he smiled, extending a black-gloved hand, which the girl took. They shook hands and the girl took her seat on the bed. "So, do you like it here?"

"Well, I haven't really gotten to explore much. The only places I've been are that big room with the thrones, the bathroom, here, Vexen's study-lab thing, and a room with a big desk…" she replied truthfully.

"Well, when Xemnas gives us the okay, we'll show you around!" Xion declared, and Demyx nodded.

Suddenly, in a whoosh of black and purple swirl, Saïx appeared in the doorway behind them. He eyed the three glaringly and said, "The Superior wishes to see you, now. Xion, would you accompany our guest to his office?" Xion nodded and Saïx disappeared back into his portal.

"Come on. Can't keep Xemnas waiting," she said.

"Who is Xemnas?" the other girl asked.

"Xemnas is that scary guy with the silver hair. Saïx always calls him 'The Superior', regardless of if he's around or not," Demyx replied.

"Oh. I don't think I'm too particularly fond of him…" the girl said, furrowing her brow.

"None of us are, really. Well, except Saïx," Xion replied, laughing. Demyx left, and Xion led the girl up to the room, which the girl assumed was Xemnas' office. Xion knocked on the door.

"Come in," the man's voice replied. Xion led the girl through the doors into the large office.

"We're here, Superior," Xion said.

"Xion, you may leave us," Xemnas said, emotionlessly. Xion bowed her head slightly and left the room to wait outside. Xemnas turned to the girl in front of him. "Have you achieved speech?"

"Yes, sir," the girl responded, quietly.

"Good. Have you remembered anything at all about your name?" he asked her.

The girl shook her head no and said, "I haven't…" Inside, she was wondering if she should mention the dreams she'd had.

"Hm. What are you not telling me?" the man asked, coldly.

"Uh-nothing…" she tried to lie.

"Don't test me, girl. I won't be so forgiving this time around," he spat.

She shuddered internally. "I've had some dreams, about a girl. The first was her getting her heart ripped out by little black things, and the other was of the same girl, but her name was Elia… That's all, I swear…"

"Hmph. Do you think this girl is you?" he asked.

"I-I don't know…" she replied, looking down.

"Well, figure it out. Leave me," the cold man barked. She did as she was told and scurried out the door, frightened.

"What happened?" Xion asked, worriedly.

"Nothing…" the girl lied. Xion took the hint and left the subject alone. They walked back to the girl's room.

"Well, I've got to go now. I'll come back soon, and I'll bring a friend with me, okay?" Xion asked.

"Okay, I'll see you then," the violet-eyed girl replied, smiling slightly. Xion hugged her briefly and left. The girl sat on the bed, sobbing quietly and tearlessly. She didn't want to know what Xemnas would do to her if she didn't figure out who she was, soon.

A/N: Yay! A chapter that's over 2,000 words! Hm, I wonder who Xion will bring next time! Heheh… And, what about that strange disappearing torso? O.o

As always, please review and tell me what you think! ^^

Update..3/26/11: Changed the name from Dexia to Elia. That's all.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Oi, this chapter really didn't want to be written. Especially when I stayed at a friend's house, with exams, and being distracted by an instant, pressing urge to listen to Phantom of the Opera. Anyway, uh… yeah... On with the story!

The girl was in her room, pacing. She felt like she was running out of time to figure out her name. "Elia… Who is Elia, and why do I keep dreaming about her? Am I Elia? I look somewhat like her, except my eyes are a different color, and my hair's a different color… But, could that have changed when I… uh… whatever it was that happened? Ugh… I hate trying to figure this out…" She wished for a notepad and a pencil. Maybe, if she wrote out her dreams, she could study them further. "I need sleep…" The girl curled up on the floor, not bothering to use her bed. She closed her eyes once she was semi-comfortable and went to sleep.

_"Elia, honey, what are you doing?" a tall, blonde woman asked a small, dark-haired girl._

"_Nothing, Mommy!" the girl, Elia, replied, giggling._

"_Eli, don't you lie to me," the woman said, sternly._

"_I'm drawing a picture! But you can't see!" Elia shouted, leaning over said picture._

"_Alright, honey. Whatever you say…" the woman sighed, walking away._

"Elia, honey, what are you doing?" the tall, blonde woman asked the dark-haired girl, who was older now.

"_Nothing, Mom!" Elia responded, smiling innocently._

"_Eli, don't you lie to me," the woman said in the same stern voice._

"_I'm drawing a picture, but you can't see," Elia replied, hiding the picture._

"_Alright, honey. Whatever you say…" the woman said, sighing and walking away._

"ELIA! Hold on, honey, I'm coming!" the tall, blonde woman screamed, running towards a dark-haired girl that was being swarmed by Heartless. The girl was screaming and crying in pain, and the woman was frozen to the spot.

"_Mom! Go inside! I don't want them to hurt you!" Elia screamed._

"_I won't leave you!" the woman cried, still standing, rooted to the ground._

"_Just go, please!" Elia screamed, in total agony. The woman nodded and ran into the house, locking the door. She stared, bawling, out the window at the sight of her daughter being slaughtered by Heartless._

_Once all the Heartless had left and the woman had sunk to the floor in the safety of the house, Elia's broken, bloody body dissipated into nothingness, little black flecks tearing themselves off and floating away._

In a dark corner on a dark street, a slight whooshing sound erupted as millions of little black flecks assembled themselves into the shape of a girl. The girl opened her eyes and looked around. She opened her mouth, but no words came out, surprising her. She shakily stood and looked around. After a moment of searching around her, she took off walking towards a white castle.

The girl woke up, choking back a gasp. "I **am** Elia!" The revelation shocked her, though she felt like it shouldn't have. She looked down, noticing that she was in her bed. "Hmm… Maybe I sleepwalk?" As soon as she said this, she realized her throat was raw. She rubbed her neck, wondering aloud, "Was I screaming in my sleep? I hope not… That would have just been awkward if someone had woken up…"

Shaking the thought, Elia got up off the bed and stumbled slightly as she walked to the middle of the room. She started to stretch, sighing contentedly with every pop she heard. She surprised herself with her flexibility. "Maybe I was in yoga or something…" she mused. A knock on her door broke her thought process. "Come in!" she called.

The door opened revealing Xion. "Hey!" the raven-haired girl smiled, approaching Elia to hug her.

"Hey! Guess what!" Elia replied, smiling and hugging her friend.

"Did you remember your name?" Xion asked her.

"Yup! My name is Elia!" the girl said, excitedly.

"Cool! I wonder what Xemnas will change it to," Xion wondered aloud.

"He's…going…to…change…my…name?" Elia asked her, sounding heartbroken.

"Yeah. Everyone here gets a new name. Maybe that's why he needed your old one so much," Xion replied.

"Awe…" Elia groaned. "I worked so hard to remember it!"

Xion merely laughed.

"So can I leave my room yet?" Elia asked.

"No… Xemnas hasn't said anything about so far…" Xion replied sadly.

"Oh…" Elia said, shoulders drooping more. She looked down at her feet, studying them.

"Hey, Xion! Hey, uh…" a male voice spoke from the door.

"Elia," the girl said without looking up.

"Elia, right," the voice said.

"Hey, Demyx!" Xion greeted. "Whatcha doin?"

"Oh, um, Xemnas said to come get you. Something about… uh… I don't remember. Oh, and hey, I'm glad you remembered!" the young man said.

Elia looked up and smiled. "Me too! Eh, did he say if either of you were supposed to take me there? I pretty much know the way by now, but it'd still be nice to have company…"

"No. I think he wants you to go alone…" Demyx replied, shrugging.

"Oh… Okay… Well, I guess I'll see you guys later…" the violet-eyed girl said sadly. She walked straight to the office she was requested to, fearing the wrath of Xemnas should she wonder astray. She knocked on the door.

"You may enter," the chillingly empty voice called. Elia pushed the door open just wide enough for her to step through and shut the door behind her. "Now, have you remembered your name?"

"Y-yes. My name is Elia, sir…" she stuttered.

"Ah. Now, Elia, do you know anything about darkness?" Xemnas asked her.

"I don't, sir…" she replied, voice small.

"How about Nobodies and Heartless?" he asked again.

"Nothing, sir…" she replied again.

"Let me explain to you a few things about the darkness and its inhabitants, the Heartless, as well as Nobodies like ourselves.  
"The inhabitants of darkness are the Heartless. They are very primal and act purely on animal instinct. There are two types of Heartless: Pureblood and Emblem. Pureblood Heartless are created when the darkness residing in a person's heart consumes him or her. This type is pure black with beady, yellow eyes. These are more common in places saturated in darkness. Emblem Heartless were originally created by a machine that replicated the process of forming a Pureblood Heartless. These Heartless are more colorful and vary in shape and size. The Heartless' only goal is to find more hearts to steal, so they can create more Heartless. The strength of each Heartless depends on the amount of darkness in the heart of the person they were created from.  
"Then, there are Nobodies, such as ourselves. We possess the ability to think and plan, unlike the Heartless. Nobodies are formed occasionally from the remaining shell, the body and soul, of a person whose heart was stolen or consumed by darkness. A Nobody has no heart, and therefore cannot feel emotion. We may feign emotion, based on memories we possess from our times as Somebodies. We reside in a world which lies between the realms of Light and Dark, and therefore, we are shunned by both and do not truly exist. The form and strength of a Nobody depends entirely on the strength of the heart it was created from.  
"We, in the Organization, are the strongest of the Nobodies. Each of our members has an attribute they use in battle. Vexen informed me of your little, incident, during your examination. Should you join our ranks, you will learn how to control this attribute of yours and fight for our cause. Should you decline, well, you don't want to know what will happen if you reject the offer. Think it over, Elia, for the time to decide approaches."

"Sir, if I may, what _is_ the cause you all are fighting towards?" Elia asked, curious.

"You will know in good time. Now, go back to your room and consider this proposition. I will send food and other necessities. You may leave," he replied, shooing her out the door. She complied quickly.

When she arrived in her room, a tray of food was waiting on her bed. She ate hungrily and began to stretch once again, to help herself think.

"Do I want to fight alongside these… people?... that I barely know? What are they even fighting for? Who are they fighting? What would he do if I don't want to join this Organization? Do I want to? WHY DON'T I HAVE A HEART? Ugh… so many questions!" She sighed, exasperated. "What am I going to do? I need a shower… That'll clear my head…"

As if on cue, a knock sounded on the door. "Come in," Elia called. The door opened, revealing the hooded woman from before.

"You know the drill. Come on," the woman stated. Elia complied, following the woman to the large bathrooms. She found a new, though identical, change of clothes next to the shower. She made use of the seemingly-endless amounts of hot water flowing from the faucet, thinking over the option she'd been given. After who-knows-or-cares how long, she stepped out of the shower, donned her clothing, and walked to the mirror.

"Hmm… I wish I had a hair-tie…" she stated simply, fluffing her hair. The woman standing outside opened the door and shot a black object into the room, barely missing Elia's ear. "Thanks!" she called as the door shut. She grabbed the stretchy black loop and slipped it over her wrist. She brushed all of her hair off to the left side, in front of her shoulder, and slipped the black band over it, securing it in place. Satisfied, she knocked twice on the door and was led to her room.

Once in the room, she took to pacing. Back and forth she walked, thinking over her options. She examined them, flipped them over and reexamined them, turned them inside out and inspected them, and basically looked at them every which-way she could think of. Another knock on the door brought her out of her thoughts.

"It is time for you to make your decision, Elia. Come with me," Xemnas stated, standing outside her now-open door.

Elia nodded and followed the silver-haired man through a portal. While walking, she gave final thoughts to the choice presented to her. By the time they reached the round room and all the thrones were filled, she had reached a decision. She knew she wasn't going to look back on this choice with regret, if she could, because it simply felt right.

A/N: Woo! Chapter 5! Less than 2,000 words, but hey, that's alright. I love cliffies, though this isn't much of one. I feel a need to thank Kingdom Hearts Wiki, because the in-depth background/descriptions on the Nobodies and Heartless wouldn't have been in this without the site. So, thank you to the people who wrote that wonderful information down. So, on to bed now, because I have tests tomorrow… Please, review! :D

Update..3/26/11: Changed the name.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Okay, so here goes another chapter! :D Thank you, once again, to my two lovely people who put up with all my questions and all the times I bug you to check your email and read my new chapters!

Elia looked around the room, seeing no faces beneath the black hoods. She felt as though all eyes were on her and thought that if she could see them, they would be. She saw Xemnas push his hood back out of the corner of her eye, and he cleared his throat, signaling for the meeting to begin. It felt as though all the eyes that had been pressing down on her left suddenly as they all turned to face their "Superior".

"Now, Elia, You have been given a choice to join the Organization and fight alongside your fellow Nobodies. Have you taken this into consideration?" Xemnas asked her.

"Yes, sir, I have," Elia replied, no trace or hint of nervousness in her voice.

"Have you reached a decision?" he questioned.

"I have, sir. I have decided to accept your offer with gratitude," she replied, confidence evident in her tone.

"Very good, Elia. Now, for your name… Your previous name was Elia. However, because you are no longer the person Elia was, your name needs to change. Your name is now Xaeli," Xemnas stated bluntly, not giving her a choice. He turned his gaze to a tall, thin cloaked figure sitting atop one of the thrones. "Axel, you will train Xaeli. I want you to teach her everything she needs to know. Vexen will speak to you later about this assignment. Xaeli, go with Axel. He will show you around the Castle. Now that Xaeli is no longer a flight risk, the rest of you are no longer required to wear your hoods when she is present. You are dismissed." Xemnas descended to the floor and left via portal.

Xaeli was standing, alone, in the middle of the room, contemplating her new name. "Xaeli… You know, I think I like it… So Xion was right… That was why he needed my name… Hmm, why doesn't it feel weird, knowing that my name just got changed? What if I couldn't remember-"

"Do you do that a lot? Talk to yourself, I mean," a man's voice asked from behind her. She whipped her head around, startled, to look at the source of the voice. A man stood there, with spiky, long, fire-red hair, emerald green eyes, and black tattoos under his eyes. Xaeli found herself unable to answer, too shocked at the man's appearance. "Hello? You there?" He waved a hand in front of her eyes, causing her to blink.

"I'm sorry, what?" she asked, still a bit zoned out.

"Do. You. Talk. To. Yourself. Often?" he asked, condescendingly slow.

"Uh, yeah… I have a tendency to think out loud…" she admitted.

"Hm. Well, if I'm gonna show you around this desolate place, might as well get started, eh?" he asked, smirking at her.

"Sure…" she replied, following him through a portal. "Um, I guess you know this already, but I'm Xaeli…" Her eyes widened, slightly, at how not-odd it felt, using that name. Maybe Xemnas somehow did more than just verbally change her name… She pushed the thoughts aside and waited for the man's reply.

"Yeah, I did know. The name's Axel. A-X-E-L. Got it memorized?" the redhead replied, curtly.

"Uh, Axel, yeah…" Xaeli replied. They exited the portal in minimal time and started down a hallway.

Axel proceeded to show her all through the Castle That Never Was, pointing out the main places she needed to know. The last place they stopped was the kitchen, because Axel was hungry.

Said redhead was rifling through the fridge, looking for something to satisfy his food craving. Xaeli heard him mumbling to himself. She heard him mention salsa and something else. Finally, he sighed and pulled some various objects out to set them on the counter. Xaeli sat, patiently waiting, as the man devoured his food. She felt her own stomach rumble a little, but said nothing. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to the hungry young woman, Axel stood up and threw whatever wrappers he had into the garbage bin.

"Alright, Xaeli. I guess I should introduce you to some of the other members. Not the lame ones, though," Axel said, looking at the girl.

"Ok," was her reply. Axel opened up a portal and they stepped inside, reaching the other end quickly. They were in the hallway where her room was, standing outside a door that looked similar to hers. Laughing could be heard from inside the room. The redhead turned the doorknob and pulled it open, gesturing to Xaeli to go in. She complied, though a little hesitantly.

"Hey, kids," Axel said, a smirk forming on his face.

"Shut up, Axe. You're not much older than we are," an annoyed-looking blonde retorted, not bothering to look up from the place on the floor at which he was staring.

Xion, who was sitting on the floor, merely laughed. She got an 'I-just-realized-something-important-and-now-I'm-going-to-share-this-with-you look on her face and blurted, "Hey, aren't you supposed to be showing Xaeli around?" while turning to look up at him. "Oh, hey Xaeli!"

"Hey, Xion!" Xaeli smiled. "Hey, Demyx!" she added, seeing the young sitar-player standing across the room.

"Hey!" Demyx said, waving.

"Wait, you two know her already?" Axel asked, confusedly.

"Well, yeah. Xemnas sent me to give her food a few times, and one time Demyx just happened to drop by…" Xion replied, looking at the emerald-eyed man. Demyx nodded.

"Hmm…" Axel replied, furrowing his brow.

"Hi. I'm Roxas," the blonde boy said from his spot on the bed. He stood up to offer a hand to shake, which she took.

"As I'm sure you know by now, I'm Xaeli," she replied.

"That must suck, everyone knowing your name, but you not knowing anyone else's," Roxas said.

"Little bit…" Xaeli replied, truthfully.

"Well, enough with introductions. Hey, Dem, where's Zex?" Axel asked.

"In the library, as always," Demyx replied, rolling his eyes.

"Well, no surprise there. Xaeli can meet our resident bookworm later, I guess," the redhead said, shoulders slumping ever-so-slightly.

"So, what do you guys wanna do now?" Xion asked.

"Hmm… Hey, Axel, wanna spar?" Demyx asked, an excited glint in his eyes.

"You're on! I pick place!" Axel replied, the same shine in his eyes.

"Woo! Finally, some entertainment!" Roxas whooped.

Axel summoned a portal, and they all went through. They exited on a balcony somewhere on the exterior of the large castle.

"Okay, you both know the rules here. So, when you're ready, nod and I'll begin the match," Xion said.

"Xaeli, watch closely. Let's call this the beginning of your training," Axel said, looking at her. He turned his gaze to Demyx and nodded. The other nodded as well.

"Begin!" Xion called, and the two sprung into action.

Axel flicked his wrists, and two circular, spiked objects materialized into his hands. Another flick of his wrists, and the weapons were aflame. Demyx, at the same time, called forth his sitar.

"Dance, water, dance!" he yelled, striking various chords. Several watery clones of the Mohawk-wearing sitarist appeared around him.

Xaeli stood in amazement. "How do they do that?" she asked Xion and Roxas.

"Ssh. Just enjoy it," Roxas whispered, eyes on the fight scene playing out before them.

[A/N: Insert some sort of battle scene here. It can be epic, non-epic, I don't care. I just can't write fights. Maybe I'll add one in later, though. :D]

By the end of the battle, Axel was soaked in water, Demyx's clothes were singed, and the area around them was a mixture of dripping wet and smouldering. However, the winner was clear.

"And Axel wins!" Xion shouted.

"Woo! Go Axe!" Roxas cheered. Demyx huffed and pouted.

"Good job, Demyx," Xaeli smiled, hugging her friend lightly.

"Thanks, and you can call me Dem if ya want," the boy replied, smiling.

"Okay," she answered, smiling back. "Good job to you, too, Axel!"

"Yeah. Thanks," Axel replied.

"Next time, Axel, you're going down!" Demyx shouted, laughing.

"We'll see about that, Water-Boy," Axel smirked. Demyx summoned a portal and they all went through, ending up back in the room they occupied before the sparring match.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm exhausted. I'm going to bed," Xion yawned. She waved goodbye and walked to her room.

"Sounds like a plan. I'll see you all later," Demyx agreed, heading out as well.

"Yeah, I'm gonna crash. Night, Axel, Xaeli," Roxas added, flopping down on his bed.

"Night, Roxas. C'mon, Xaeli. I'll show you which door is yours," Axel said, beckoning the girl out into the hall.

"Okay. Night, Roxas," she said before following Axel down the hall. They passed several doors, mostly silent, until they stopped in front of one.

"Well, this one's your door. It'll get a number up top pretty soon. You're XV. Got it memorized?" Axel explained, using what Xaeli assumed to be his catchphrase.

"Uh, yeah. XV, right," she replied.

"I'll come get you later. I've got a whole lot to teach you. Alright?" the redhead asked.

"Okay. What time?" Xaeli asked, forgetting the obvious fact that time was an issue in a world of perpetual midnight.

"Don't be stupid. It'll be long enough for sleep. Night," he replied, walking away.

"Night, Axel…" she said before disappearing into her room.

"Hmm… I wonder what I'll be learning…" Xaeli thought aloud. She walked to the middle of the room and sat on the floor, stretching her legs. She wanted to be ready for whatever kind of physical strain she was going to endure. "I just hope he doesn't set me on fire with those things…"

Finally, after who-knows-how-long stretching, she walked to the bed and laid down to sleep, curling up under the blankets. Warmth acted as her sleeping pill, and she drifted almost instantly.

A/N: Bleh… This chapter didn't want to be written… I kept getting distracted by food, TV, boredom, writer's… confusion, pessimism, looking up the ingredients of gelatin to prove a point, and many other things. Please, review and tell me what I did wrong or right:D  
Oh, and sorry if Roxas and Axel seem a bit… out of character. I didn't really think they were, but one of my two editors (the one who gives me ideas and whatnot, not my grammar person), thinks they're off.

Update..3/26/11: Ommitted some things, changed the names.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: So, I'm going to start this with absolutely no plan on how to finish it. Here goes. Oh, and don't kill me if it's weird… Thank you, as always, to my lovely two people who read it before anyone else (via email, of course, even though one lives with me O.o), and to NinjaSheik and Getsemone for reviewing! :D  
On a side note, my computer fails at life. -_-"

_The room was completely dark. The giggling of a small child could be heard, though the space was too enclosed to tell from which direction. The giggling was coming from a small, dark-haired girl who was sitting in a corner, underneath the hanging clothes. She could see the shadows of feet walking past the door, and she quieted her laughter so she wouldn't be heard. The shadow-feet stopped in front of the door, and the girl was afraid she'd been found. However, after a few agonizing seconds, the feet walked away again. The girl sighed in relief, thankful she hadn't been found. She wanted a few more minutes in her delightfully dark hiding space. She knew most children her age were afraid of the dark, but she loved to play in it. The feet entered the room once again, walking straight for the closet. The girl held her breath, waiting to see if the doors opened, which they did._

"_I found you, Elia! Haha! Now you're it!" a light-eyed girl exclaimed. Elia stuck out her tongue._

"_Darn it, Ari! How do you always find me?" Elia pouted, stepping out into the brightness of her bedroom._

"_Elia! Watch your language, young lady!" her mother yelled from downstairs._

"_Sorry, Mom!" the girl yelled back._

"_Go count. It's my turn to hide!" Ari said, shoving Elia down the hall to the stairs, otherwise known as their counting place._

"_Fine! One, two, three-"  
_-  
Three loud knocks woke Xaeli from her peaceful sleep.

"Yes?" she called, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Get up. You have to start training today," a voice called from the other side of the door.

"Right… Can I shower first?" she asked.

"No. Hurry up," the voice replied.

"Fine…" she grumbled, getting out of bed. She slipped on her shoes and once again tied her hair off to the left. She walked to the door and turned the handle, somewhat surprised when it actually opened. Outside the door stood Axel, the ever-present smirk on his face.

"Good morning, sunshine. The earth says hello!" he said in a sarcastically sweet tone.

"What sort of training are you going to torture me with?" she asked, ignoring his odd remark.

"You'll just have to wait and see. Coffee first," he replied.

"Coffee? Why?" she asked, curious.

"Because, Xaeli, it's the juice of life that keeps people running. That's why," he smirked.

"Hmm, I hadn't figured you for a coffee drinker," she laughed.

They walked to the kitchen, where a fresh pot of coffee was already in place. Axel grabbed two cups, handing one to Xaeli, and poured the black beverage into both.

"What do you want in your coffee?" he asked, walking toward a cabinet.

"Cinnamon," she replied.

"That's it? Just cinnamon?" he asked, looking confused.

"Yeah… I don't know why, that's just the way I drink it…" she said, shrugging.

"Hmm… I'll have to try that… I usually just drink mine black," he replied, grabbing the cinnamon shaker from the cabinet.

He handed her the container, and she sprinkled some of the flavoring into her mug. She stirred the beverage, making the liquid swirl, and took a sip. She sighed contentedly, letting the heat run down her throat. Xaeli couldn't even remember the last time she had coffee.

"Hand me that…" he demanded, and she complied. He took a sip from the opposite edge of her cup. "Hmm… Not bad…" She took her drink back and continued sipping the steaming liquid. He added cinnamon to his coffee and put the spice back into the cabinet. They drank their coffee in silence, just enjoying the bitter caffeine-filled substance. When they each finished their coffee, Xaeli took the mugs and rinsed them in the sink.

"So… Are you going to tell me what kind of training I'm in for?" she asked, trying to give him puppy-dog eyes.

"Pleading faces don't work on Nobodies… No emotions to appeal to, remember? And no, I'm not. You'll find out soon enough," Axel smirked in response.

"Damn…" she grumbled in response. Axel summoned a portal and Xaeli stepped through, completely used to the feeling of walking through the complete darkness now. At the end of the dark pathway, Xaeli saw intense light. She could hear the sound of crashing waves and smell the salty air of a beach. "Why are we at a beach?"

"Because, Xaeli, I like the beach," he replied, the smirk evident in his tone of voice.

"Yes, but aren't we supposed to be training?" she asked.

"Who says we can't train at the beach?" was his response, still smirking.

"Hmm… True…" she replied. They stepped onto the sand and the dark, swirling mass dissipated from behind them. Xaeli looked at Axel, and smirked. "Let's get started, eh?"

Axel's smirk grew a tiny bit. "Alright, show me what you think you know." He grabbed two hunks of driftwood, about equal size, and tossed one to her. They started making advances at one another, but Axel perpetually shoved Xaeli back.

"You're going to have to do much better if you want to survive in the Organization, Xaeli," the redhead taunted.

"Isn't that what you're here for? To _teach_ me?" she responded while attempting to ward off Axel's attack. She failed, and he held the wood to her neck.

"You're dead. Let's try this again," he said, extending a hand to help her up. She accepted the help, and in no time they were swiping at one another.

"So, how long have you been in the Organization?" she asked, dodging Axel's weapon.

"I don't know, really. Long enough, I guess," he replied, taking another swipe at her. She parried his hit and landed one on his right leg. "Not bad, but still needing much improvement."

He swung at her again, narrowly missing her left arm. She lunged at him, aiming to strike his ribs. He jumped back, raising his plank above his head.

Xaeli gasped as felt the wind from Axel's weapon, which was on a crash-course for her shoulder. She braced for impact, but instead heard wood hitting sand. She looked at Axel, whose eyes were wide with shock.

"W-what did you _do_?" he asked, backing away slightly.

"I didn't do anything!" she replied, reaching down for the stick. She offered Axel his weapon, and he accepted it warily.

"Whatever you just did, do it again…" he said, readying himself to fight again.

"I don't know what it was, but I'll try…" she replied, preparing herself as well. Their weapons clacked each time they collided, and a grunt was heard each time wood hit flesh. Axel, once again, gained the upper hand and took a swing at her side. Xaeli, who saw the hit coming, once again braced for the impact, but again felt nothing.

"What are you doing? I go to hit you, and the stick goes straight through you!" Axel exclaimed, disgruntled.

"I don't know!" Xaeli yelled, throwing her arms up in confused frustration. "Hey, wait, when Vexen was doing his examination, something weird happened. He was checking for a pulse with a stethoscope, and he made this weird face. When I looked down, my chest was a shadow."

"What do you mean?" he asked, confused.

"Like, it was there, but it was dark and see-through…" she replied.

"Now, why didn't he tell me that?" he exclaimed. "We're done with this for right now. Now, I'm going to teach you how to summon a portal."

"Okay…" she replied.

"Think of the castle, preferably outside of Vexen's lab. Don't think of anything else, just that one spot. Now, raise your hand and imagine a pathway straight to that spot," he said, slow enough so she had time to follow.

A black, swirling portal materialized in front of her, and she gasped. "Oh, I did it!"

"Wow. First try, too. Now, get that memorized. I don't want to have to teach you again. Let's go," he replied, stepping into the portal. Xaeli followed. They arrived at the exact spot Axel had asked for. "You can go shower now. I'll come find you later and we'll work on something else."

"Okay… Later…" she replied, walking away. She heard him knock on the door, and a few seconds later the door whooshed open. She continued on her way to the bathroom to take a much-needed shower.

After she felt refreshed, she turned off the water and stepped out of the shower to dress. "Ah, crap… I don't have clean clothes…" she realized.

The door whooshed open and footsteps sounded their way towards the showers. Xion emerged into view.

"Hey, Xion! Uh, do you know where I can find some clean clothes?" Xaeli asked, embarrassed.

"Oh, yeah. There should be some further down that way, in a big closet," Xion replied, pointing down the row of showers to a set of folding doors.

"Thanks!" the violet-eyed girl called, hurrying down that way. "Man, it's cold in here…"

She reached the closet and browsed through until she found clothes in her size. They were the same as her previous clothes. Once she was dressed, a thought popped into her head. "When do I get a cloak? Hmm… Maybe I have to pass some sort of test or something…" Xaeli walked to the large mirror near the door and, like usual, pulled her hair off to the side and tied it there. She left the bathroom and walked absently through the large castle. She didn't think of anything while she was walking, she just let her feet carry her. She stopped when she came to a door at the end of a hallway.

"Hmm… What room was this again? Axel told me, I know he did, but I can't remember…" she thought aloud as she pushed open the door. On the other side was the largest library Xaeli had ever seen. There were books of all different sizes, thicknesses, and colors lining the shelves, which were plentiful in themselves. In the back corner, she saw a young man with short, steel-blue hair sitting in one of the chairs, reading a rather thick book. "I think I should probably leave him alone… But what if he's lonely? Maybe he likes to be alone…" she argued with herself, quietly, of course, because she was in a library. When she finally decided to leave the man be, he looked up from his book, straight at her. She smiled nervously and waved her hand. "Well… He knows I'm here now, so might as well go make an acquaintance…"

Xaeli walked over to where he was sitting. "Hi… I'm Xaeli," she said, extending her hand for a handshake.

"Zexion," the steel-blue-haired boy replied, shaking her hand.

"So… What're you reading?" she asked, trying to make small talk.

"Hey, Xaeli, you ready to work some more? Oh, hey Zexion," Axel's voice called from the doorway.

"Axel, really, this is a library. You're supposed to be quiet," Zexion huffed when Axel approached.

"Uh, yeah, anyway, Xaeli and I have training to do. Come on," the red-head replied, gesturing to Xaeli to follow as he walked away.

"Bye, Zexion! It was nice meeting you!" she called.

"Likewise," he replied before turning his attention back to his massive book.

"So, what now?" she asked, walking after Axel.

"Let's find out more about that thing you keep doing…" he replied, turning back to look at her.

"And how do we do that?" she asked, curious.

"I don't know. Maybe you have a trigger or something," he said, shrugging. She caught up to him, with a bit of effort. Her legs were shorter than his.

"Hmm…" was her response. "Hey, wait, where are we going?"

"Let's go back to the balcony we were on yesterday," Axel said.

"Okay," Xaeli nodded, summoning a portal. They walked through and ended up on the balcony Axel mentioned.

"Good. You got it memorized," the red-head smirked.

"Hm," the violet-eyed girl responded. "So, how are you going to find this 'trigger'?"

"I dunno," he shrugged. She rolled her eyes. Mid eye-roll, however, she felt a sharp pain on her right arm.

"Ow! What did you do that for?" she yelped.

"Testing a theory," he replied, flicking another spark at her. She watched the little flame glide towards her, but felt nothing when it should have burned her arm.

"Do that again," she said, getting an idea. Axel tossed another little fire at her, this one aimed at her leg. Once again, she felt no pain when the heat should have burned her. "Maybe it only happens when I feel threatened?"

"Maybe. Let's test that idea," he nodded. He stepped towards her, drew back a fist, and threw his arm into a punch. They each stared into each other's eyes, gauging the other's reaction. When Axel felt his knuckles collide with something, he looked down to see his fist pressing into Xaeli's stomach.

Xaeli coughed in pain. "Why did you just punch me?" she cried, shoving him away.

"I didn't think it'd hit!" he exclaimed. "I thought you'd do whatever it is you were doing!"

"Well, apparently I didn't, and it did hit," she sighed. "You punch hard."

"I try," he smirked. "You good to go?"

"Yeah, I'm good. Let's try that again," she nodded. Axel, once again, threw a punch. This time, Xaeli watched his fist. Her eyes widened in surprise, but Axel didn't feel anything solid against his hand. "Oh, wow. My stomach turned into a shadow…" she breathed. Axel looked down. Sure enough, the outline of her stomach was barely visible, and he could clearly see through the empty space occupied only by his hand. He withdrew his attacking arm, and her stomach became solid again.

"So, it's a defensive move, but it only works if you see the hit coming and are ready for it… Weird…" he thought aloud.

"Yeah… Weird…" she agreed.

"Let's go back inside. We've done enough for today, and I'm feeling lazy," Axel said.

"Sounds good," Xaeli replied. "Where should we go?"

"How about we eat?" he offered.

In response, her stomach grumbled. "I don't think that requires interpretation…" she laughed. Axel gestured to her, and she summoned a portal to the kitchen. "Heh, I'm getting good at this portal thing."

"Just wait until you have to summon a portal to a world you've never seen," he smirked. "Then you can decide if you're good."

"Killjoy…" she grumbled.

Xion was already cooking food when they arrived in the kitchen.

"Ooh, that smells good!" Xaeli said.

"Thanks! You guys can have some when it's done," Xion smiled. The other two nodded in response, each muttering a "Thanks." When the food was done, Roxas and Demyx appeared in the room. The five ate, exchanging banter.

"Well, I'm tired. I'm going to sleep. I'll see you guys later!" Xaeli said, waving and moving to summon a portal to her room.

Each of her friends said a form of goodbye, waving to her.

"I'll come get you sometime later, and we'll do more training," Axel added.

"Okay. Bye!" She stepped into the portal and exited outside her room. She looked up above the door, and to her surprise, there was a plate labeled XV above the frame. "Sweet!" She went inside the room and walked to the bed. She curled up on top of the blankets, not even bothering to take off her shoes, and instantly fell into a deep sleep.

A/N: Okay… So, I'm sorry if that completely and totally sucked. I wrote it in a rush, because I'm probably going to be busy over the next few days. After Christmas, I'm going out of town for five days and won't be able to write, so I figured I'd post this pre-trip. If I feel a need, I'll rewrite this entire chapter later, because I don't really like how it turned out. Please, review and tell me how I did. I have an awesome idea for a weapon, and I've already got it drawn and everything. However, I don't know when she'll get it. Oh, and this chapter's 2571 words long without the author's notes! Yay! And, if I rewrite it, it'll probably be even longer! So, that's 7. :D

Update..3/26/11: Changed the names, don't really remember what else. Hope you readers are enjoying! C:


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Okay, so this first part takes place somewhere outside Elia's hometown, which I'm going to base on my hometown if I need to write something about it, simply because my hometown makes a good reference point, because I live there. Ha. Anyway, thank you once again to Getsemone and NinjaSheik for reviewing, and to my two lovely people who help me out so much. Oh, and if you don't know what a pumpjack is, not that it really matters, Google it:]

_In the middle of the desert, two figures on ATVs could be seen and heard, flying over the ground through the hot, dry air of summer. The two bounded over bushes, rocks, and ruts in the mud, shooting past pumpjacks and giant tanks of oil._

"_I'm so beating you, Eli!" one of the figures shouted to the other. She was clad in a white t-shirt, jean cutoff shorts, sneakers, and a bright green motocross-style helmet._

"_You so are NOT, Ari! Eat dust!" Elia called as she pushed harder on the throttle of the machine, causing it to speed ahead of her friend. She wore a black tank-top, blue skinny jeans, a shredded pair of black Converse, and a purple helmet._

"_So that's how it's gonna go? Alright, let's do this!" Ari laughed back, pressing down the little throttle button as well. Both girls continued to increase their speed until a third figure rode by, wearing a black shirt, dark blue jeans, sneakers, and a black helmet with a visor._

"_Hey!" the girls shouted at the retreating figure. They sped over hills and bumps, intending to catch the yellow helmet. Once they had caught the person, all three removed their helmets._

"_Well, that was fun," Ari mused, setting her helmet on the basket behind her._

"_Yeah, it was," Elia agreed. She looked over at the third person. "Hey, Jaiden, when'd you get here?"_

"_Eh, just a few minutes ago. I woke up late…" the boy laughed. He was naturally tan, with dark eyes and black hair. "How about you two?"_

"_We've been here for hours," Ari laughed._

"_Yeah. We've been having lots of fun," Elia agreed._

"_You guys up for a race?" Jaiden asked, a mischievous glint in his eyes._

"_Sure!" the two girls agreed._

_The three determined the starting point and the ending point. They donned their helmets and rode to their designated spots at the starting point._

"_On the count of three, go. One, two, three-" shouted Jaiden. The three took off, all trying to best the others. In the end, Elia prevailed, having been the first one to reach the finish at the pumpjack._

__

Xaeli smiled as she opened her eyes. "Hm, that was a nice dream." She slipped out from under the blankets and made the bed, wondering why Axel hadn't stopped by yet. Once she was finished, she sat down and waited for her red-haired tutor to fetch her. After a few minutes, there was a knock on the door.

"Coming!" she called, slipping on her shoes. She opened the door to see not Axel, but Roxas.

"Hey, Xaeli," the blonde said, looking at her.

"Hey, Roxas," she replied, looking at him. "Where's Axel?"

"He's down in the kitchen eating. He asked me to come get you," Roxas replied.

"Axel… Asking? Somehow, I doubt that…" Xaeli laughed.

"Well, yeah… He bugged me until I agreed," Roxas shrugged.

"I thought it was something like that," she smirked. They walked together to the kitchen, exchanging friendly banter along the way. When they got there, Axel looked up from his plate of bacon and eggs to look at them.

"Took you long enough," the redhead smirked.

"Ah, shut up Axel," Roxas said, rolling his eyes.

"Hm. Is there any coffee?" Xaeli asked, peering around the room.

"Nah. No one made any," Axel replied. Xaeli slouched her shoulders and made the coffee herself. Once she had her beverage, she sat contentedly.

"So, what are you guys doing today?" Roxas asked.

"Eh, more sparring, and Xemnas wanted us to work more on that little ability of hers…" Axel replied.

"Hm. Xion and I have to go to Agrabah today," the blonde said, slumping his shoulders.

"What's Agrabah?" Xaeli asked, speaking for the first time since she started drinking her coffee.

"It's just another world…" Roxas sighed.

"Oh… How many worlds are there?" she asked, curiously.

"Who knows?" Axel replied, shrugging. Roxas shrugged as well.

"Hm…" the violet-eyed girl said, returning to silence.

"C'mon, Xaeli. We gotta go train now…" Axel sighed.

"Alright… See ya, Roxas. Say hi to Xion for me," she replied.

"Later, Roxas. Let's meet up after your mission," Axel said.

"Sure. Later," Roxas replied, walking away.

"And now, back to the beach," the redhead said, looking at her.

"Do I need to summon a portal now?" Xaeli asked, looking at him.

"No, we're just going to magically appear on the beach without doing anything, Xaeli. Yes, summon a portal!" Axel taunted.

Xaeli glared at him. "I had meant it as, 'Are you going to do it or do I need to?'" she griped while summoning a portal that would take them to the beach. Axel smirked at her as he was walking into the portal. "So, what are your weapons called?"

"Hmm?" he asked, confused.

"Those things you used when you were fighting Demyx. What are they?" she asked again.

"Oh. They're called chakrams," he replied.

"Oh. Well, they're cool," she said, smiling. Axel smirked and nodded slightly in response. By this time, they had reached the beach and their feet made small crunching sounds as they stepped onto the sand. "So, what first?"

"Hm, how about we fight some more?" he suggested.

"Sounds good. We need weapons, though…" she responded, looking around.

"Here," he said, tossing a tree branch at her.

"Where did you get this? There are no trees here…" she observed.

"No, but there are trees in Twilight Town, which is right near here," he smirked.

"Well, I'll have to make you take me there later. But now, let's fight," she replied, getting into a fighting stance.

"Excited to get beat, are we? Alright, let's go," Axel smirked.

"Who says I'm getting beat? I think you should watch yourself, Axel," Xaeli smirked in response. She moved her branch to behind her head, swinging it in small circles like a baseball bat.

"Ready when you are," he said, still smirking.

She lunged at him, weapon in position to attack. He parried her blow and swung at her leg. The tree limb connected with her limb, causing a hiss of pain. She jumped back and swung at his arm, catching him in the bicep. He recovered and retaliated, aiming for her side. She saw the branch coming and prepared for the hit, which never came. Axel took no notice of it, instead bringing his weapon around to strike at her ribs, which she wasn't ready for. The impact let out a soft 'thunk' and Xaeli grunted with pain. He swung again, but she blocked his attack and shoved him back. He stepped towards her and she stepped back. The eyed each other, stepping in circles. Simultaneously, they moved to strike, their branches clacking together. Axel, being the stronger, shoved her back, causing her to fall. He took the opportunity and stepped to her, pointing his "sword" at her neck.

"Dead. Let's go again," he said, helping her up.

The two fought over and over, Axel winning most of them. However, Xaeli managed to get the better of him occasionally.

"Hm, you're not doing half bad. But, you still need to get a whole lot better if you're going to survive in the Organization," Axel said, smirking like usual.

"Thanks," Xaeli replied, smiling. "So, what's next?"

"Uh, I guess we just fight some more?" Axel replied, shrugging.

"Sounds like a plan," Xaeli said, getting into a battle stance.

The two fought again. They "killed" one another several times, being victorious nearly equally. Xaeli began to expect attacks more, thus disabling Axel from landing a proper hit. Because of this, Xaeli started to best Axel.

"You know, if I wasn't playing fair, I could beat you so easily," he smirked while dodging a swing.

"Oh? And how's that?" she asked, smirking as well. She moved to hit again.

"I'd burn you, that's how," he replied, his smirk growing. He ducked to evade her weapon and swung at her legs. He made contact and she fell to the ground. Axel tapped her neck with his branch. "Dead."

"So, do we go again?"she asked, standing up.

"Nah, I think we're done for today. C'mon, we've got somewhere to be," he said. He summoned a portal and stepped through.

"And where's that?" she asked, following him.

"You'll see," he replied. When they stepped out of the portal, they were in a place she'd never seen before. From the look of it, they exited their portal in an alley.

"Where _are_ we?" she asked, wide-eyed.

"We're in Twilight Town. Follow me," he answered, walking out of the alley and up to a shop. She followed, keeping silent. "I'll take four ice-creams," he said to the shopkeep.

"Alright, that'll be 558 munny, please," the shopkeep replied. Axel pulled out a small pouch and handed her the currency, taking from her four sticks with light blue bars on them.

"C'mon," he said to Xaeli, gesturing for her to follow. She obeyed and they walked through a few unfamiliar streets before stopping at a building with a giant tower. They climbed up a ladder at the back of the building. Once they were on the roof of the main part of the building, they entered a door and walked up several flights of stairs. They exited another door and walked around the balcony. Axel sat down on the ledge the short wall which separated the balcony from the long vertical expanse of open air between it and the ground. Xaeli followed suit and looked out at the surrounding area.

"Wow, it's beautiful out here!" she breathed, flabbergasted at the sight before her.

"Hm, girls and their sentimentality. You know, you shouldn't even have sentimentality, considering you have no emotion," Axel smirked in response. Xaeli scowled.

"Just because I think a view is pretty doesn't mean I'm getting all mushy…" she grumbled.

"Ha, right," he replied, his smirk growing ever-so-slightly.

"Hey, guys!" Xion greeted happily, appearing from around the corner.

"Hi, Xion!" Xaeli replied, smiling at the raven-haired girl.

"Yo, Rox," Axel said, still smirking. The blonde boy walked around the corner.

"Hey, Axe," Roxas said. "Hey, Xaeli."

"Hi, Roxas!" the violet-eyed girl smiled.

Axel pulled out the four blue bars, handing one to each Nobody. He, Roxas, and Xion started munching happily on the ice cream. Xaeli, however, just stared confusedly at the blue bar.

"It's not going to kill you…" Axel said.

"What _is_ it?" Xaeli asked, watching a little drop of blue fall to the ground below.

"Sea Salt ice cream. Try it, it's really good," Roxas explained.

Xaeli took a small bite of the ice cream. The flavor was, interesting to say the least. "It's… salty… but still… sweet?" she asked confused.

"Mhm! Isn't it good?" Xion replied, taking another bite of her ice cream.

"Yeah, it is," Xaeli answered before taking another bite of the blue bar.

The four ate their ice cream in silence, just enjoying the company. When they all had finished, Roxas hopped back off the ledge. "You guys ready to RTC?"

"Yeah," Xion replied.

"Sure," Axel replied, at the same time.

"RTC?" Xaeli asked, confused.

"Return To Castle," Axel explained.

"Oh. Uh, sure I guess…" Xaeli replied.

"Okay, well then let's go," Roxas said. He summoned a portal and stepped through, followed by Xion, then Axel, then Xaeli.

Once back at the Castle, they went to the Gray Room to hang out. They sat in the big, cushy lounge chairs and talked about nothing in particular. After a while, Xion left to her room and Roxas left to go find Demyx.

"So, how long have you been here?" Xaeli asked, trying to avoid silence.

"Eh, long enough I guess," Axel replied, shrugging. "Didn't you already ask me that?"

"Oh…right..Sorry," she said.

"Well, I'm going to go crash. See ya in a while," he said, getting up to leave.

"Okay, see ya," she replied. Once Axel was gone, Xaeli stood and walked to her room, where she flopped down on the bed, thinking about how tired she wasn't. "What can I do to make myself tired?" she wondered aloud. A thought came to mind, and she acted upon it.

Xaeli stood up off her bed, sat on the floor, and started doing crunches. She went in cycles of ten, rotating from the left side to the middle, then to the right, and back again. Once she had reached 120, she flipped onto her stomach and did push-ups. After doing 100, she started stretching. When she felt almost tired enough to sleep, she stood and walked to the bathroom. When she got there, she walked to the closet, passing by the showers.

"I think I'm going to find different clothes this time…" She mused while rummaging through the closet, pulling out two plain black shirts, a pair of black skinny jeans, another pair of black sweat pants, and black, heeled boots. "I wish they were Chucks… I hate heels…" She walked back into the shower area and took her shower. When she finished, she donned one of the shirts, the sweat pants, and the moccasins. She walked to the mirror and swept her hair into its usual place at the side of her head. Once she was satisfied with her appearance, she walked back to her room.

"I think I'm going to sleep on the floor again…" she mused to herself. Xaeli grabbed a pillow off the bed and laid down on the floor. Because the floor was less warm and comfortable than the bed, it took a little longer for her to fall asleep, but eventually, sleep overtook her and sucked her into dreamland.

Anyway, Yeah… I'm sorry if this kinda sucks… It's mostly filler material anyway, to hopefully help me advance the storyline to where it needs to be. And about the dream at the beginning, I'm not sure yet if it has anything to do with the storyline symbolically, but I like the idea of her memories coming in dreams. Plus, it was a great way to work Jaiden in there. ^^ Please, tell me what you think! :D If I screwed up somewhere, or you think something could have been better, or have general suggestions as to the plot, let me know! I love reading opinions! :)

Oh, and by the way, I'm going to be changing the name of this story from _Air_ to _In the Darkness_, because the title it has now makes absolutely no sense with the story. Originally, I had planned for Elia to control the element of air when she became a Nobody, but a certain someone said that air was the same as wind, so then she'd be taking Xaldin's element. And thus, no air… So, the new title will come with the next chapter! :D

UPDATE 03/04/10: I've taken the initiative to change Kaito's name to Jaiden, and I've changed some things about him. Since I no longer have anything to do with the person who created Kaito's character, I no longer wish to associate them with this story. So he'll still be in the story, but he won't be quite the same.  
Another thing, I'M SO SORRY! I've taken way too long to update, but I've been SUPER busy. I had a play to work on, a festival to attend for said play, a contest to go to, and lots of other things. So now, I'm settling down again [for the most part…] and can continue writing. :]

Update..again..3/26/11: Okay, so, changed the names again. And I changed some stuff about Jaiden. [Funny. Spelled a bit different, that's my boyfriend's name. Bwahah!] Oh, and I fixed something I hadn't noticed. In a previous part of her training, Xaeli asked Axel how long he'd been in the Organization. Then in the Gray Room she asked again. I thought it was weird so I made it a little less awkward. Anyway, enjoy. C:


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Mmk, so school starts back tomorrow. I'm going to take a shot at writing this before I have to go do other things, but I don't know if I'll get it done. Not that I have anything else to do with my life. -_-"

Oh, yes, and thank you to Getsemone and NinjaSheik, as always for their reviews! Thanks also to my wonderful editor. :D

And another note, like I said at the end of 8, I'm changing the name of this to _In the Darkness_, because it's a more fitting title. Also, there's a band from my hometown (not that I like them at all, because they're idiots) that has a song named In the Darkness. Heh.

_Two cloaked figures walked on a beach. The sun was high in the sky, the gulls were calling, and the waves were gently rolling across the shore. The shorter figure turned its head toward the taller one. After a moment, the taller's shoulders began to shake softly with laughter. The smaller turned its head so it was looking straight ahead. They walked together, side by side. The larger figure discreetly slipped a gloved hand into another gloved hand, and the smaller laced the fingers together._

Xaeli's eyes slowly drifted open and she smiled. "That was a pleasant dream. I wonder who those two were," she said aloud as she slid from under the blanket. "Wait, blanket? I didn't go to sleep with a blanket… Or on my bed. Either I have a romantic stalker, or I have a sleepwalking problem…" The girl stepped onto the floor and walked over to the pile of clothes she had taken from the wardrobe. She pulled on the black t-shirt, the skinny jeans, and the boots. "Eh, fair enough." A small gurgling sound emitted from her stomach. "I think I need food now…"

The violet-eyed girl walked out of her door into the kitchen. She saw a pot of coffee sitting on the counter and quickly grabbed a mug and the little cinnamon shaker. When her beloved beverage was made, she set about finding the various materials needed to make pancakes. Once she found everything, she started the process of cooking. She was almost done with pancake number five when a very sleepy Demyx strolled into the room.

"Hey, Xaeli, whatcha doin?" the mull-hawked teen asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Hey, Dem. I'm making pancakes. Want one?" she responded.

Demyx's eyes widened hungrily. "Ooh, yes!" he answered while running to get a plate. She lifted one and dropped it on the boy's extended plate. "Thank you!" He slathered the pancake in butter and drenched in syrup before attacking it with a fork.

"What smells good?" Axel asked, walking into the kitchen. "Oh, hey, food!" Xaeli rolled her eyes.

"You would notice food first, Axel," she said, smirking.

"Hey, I can't help it. I'm hungry, got it memorized?" the redhead replied, smirking as well.

Xaeli offered him a pancake and he happily accepted. The three were enjoying their breakfast, later joined by Xion and Roxas, who ended up munching on pancakes as well. When everyone was finished, Xion took the dirty dishes and rinsed them in the sink.

"So, Axel, are you ready to get beat today?" the violet-eyed girl laughed.

"I don't see that happening, Xaeli," the green-eyed man smirked.

"We'll see," she smirked in response, summoning a portal to the beach. Once they got to the beach, Xaeli ran to go find weapons with which to battle. As she was reaching for a second driftwood stick, she had a sudden thought. She quickly made her way back to where Axel stood. "Hey, when do I get a proper weapon?"

"What?" he asked, confused.

"Well, all the members of the Organization have their own weapons, right?" she began.

"Right…" he said, not seeing her point.

"Well, when do _I_ get _mine_? And, for that matter, when do I get my cloak?" she finished.

"To the cloak part, I can't tell ya. Classified stuff, you know," he started, earning a sigh from Xaeli. "I don't really know how the weapon thing works… Mine just kinda, showed up one day. I guess maybe when you're ready to use it it'll come to you? Just guessing…" Xaeli sighed again.

"I want to know what kind of weapon I get," she huffed, taking a fighting stance.

Axel took his own position, and the two began their daily sparring. This time, Xaeli managed to get the upper hand in more fights than Axel had, which only made him more determined. He fought harder, and so did she. After a few hours of the fighting, Xaeli had her branch to the side of Axel's head.

"Dead. Again?" she asked. Axel shook his head no.

"Nah. We've fought enough for now. Saïx told me to teach you about reconnaissance," he shrugged.

"Re-what?" she asked, confused.

"Recon. It's where you go around a new world and find stuff out about it that the Organization might need to know," he explained.

"Oh. Uh, okay?" she shrugged. "Let's give it a shot. What do I do?"

"He took the liberty of setting up some 'interesting things' for you to find in Twilight Town, so I guess we head over there," Axel replied.

"Okay," Xaeli said, still unsure of what to make from the situation. Axel summoned a portal and they both stepped through, exiting in Twilight Town.

"Okay, now the objective is to look for anything you think might be important, then come to a conclusion at what it means," the fire-wielder explained, and Xaeli went to try it. After several mistakes, she smacked herself in the forehead.

"Why am I so awful at this?" she exclaimed. Axel started laughing, earning a glare from the frustrated girl. "What exactly is so funny, Axel? Do tell."

"You're doing a lot better than Roxas or Demyx did," the redhead panted between chuckles.

"Really?" she asked, her eyes taking a hopeful glint.

"Yeah," he replied. "But you're nowhere close to done."

"Moment killer…" she huffed before setting off to find more 'clues'. Finally, she managed to piece together all the important things she found and make a sound conclusion.

"Alright! Well, now that we got that load of crap out of the way, let's go get some ice cream," Axel suggested.

"Okay," Xaeli replied, smiling. "Do you think Roxas or Xion will be there?"

"I don't know, maybe. I think Roxas mentioned something about them having to go destroy some giant Heartless," he shrugged.

More walking and a little time found the two sitting on the clock tower, enjoying ice cream while watching the infamous Twilight Town sunset.

"So, how many missions have you gone on?" she asked him.

"I never kept count, but a lot," he replied.

"Oh. When will I go on one?" she added.

"Whenever Xemnas thinks you're ready, I guess," he shrugged.

"Do you remember your first mission?" she inquired.

"Yeah. It was a mess. Xaldin and I got assigned to go do recon in some little world, but I ended up setting him on fire," Axel admitted, laughing.

"Wow, I bet he was mad," Xaeli laughed.

"Yeah. I think he wanted to have Xemnas turn me into a Dusk for that one," he said.

They continued the friendly chatter all the way back to the Castle, where they met up with Roxas, Xion, Demyx, and surprisingly, Zexion, in the Gray Room. The six of them talked for a while before splitting up. Xaeli, Axel, and Roxas went to the kitchen to eat. After the meal, the girl excused herself and went to shower, being sure to grab the two different pairs of clothes. She went to her room and laid down on her bed to sleep.

When she woke up, she changed clothes and walked to the bathroom. Looking into the mirror, Xaeli pulled her hair into its usual spot and tied it there. She made her way to the kitchen, finding a blonde woman, whose bangs stuck up like antennae, sitting at the island.

"What do you want?" the woman demanded, eyes narrowing.

"I, uh, came to get coffee and wait for Axel…" Xaeli replied nervously.

"Hmph," the blonde huffed before she turned to completely ignore the dark-haired girl. Xaeli shook her head and made her coffee. She went to the opposite corner of the kitchen from the other woman and waited silently for her tutor.

When the redhead arrived, he smirked at the blonde, who was currently busy ignoring Xaeli.

"Hey there, Larxy," he said, smirking. 'Larxy' shot him a death glare.

"Didn't I tell you not to call me that, Axel?" the woman demanded, rising from her seat.

"Hm, guess I didn't get it memorized," he smirked in response.

"I will not hesitate to injure you, Axel. Do NOT call me 'Larxy'," she barked. Xaeli fully believed her.

"Aww, you're no fun, Larxy." Axel feigned hurt.

"Please, do test me further. I'd love nothing more than to electrocute you into oblivion," she replied, a dangerous glint in her eye.

"Uh, hey Axel, didn't you want to show me something today?" Xaeli ad-libbed. She didn't know why, but the thought of the blonde woman making her friend into toast wasn't very appealing.

"Don't think so," he replied, currently engaged in a glare-off with the blonde woman.

"I'm pretty sure you did, so let's go take a look at that," Xaeli said, summoning a portal.

"Hey!" Axel objected as he was shoved into the swirling mass of darkness. They exited the portal at the beach.

"Are you stupid? That woman looked like she wanted to kill you," Xaeli huffed.

"What, Larxene? I'm not afraid of her," Axel scoffed.

"Well, whatever. She scares me," she replied.

"You ready to get started?" he asked.

"Yup. Let's do this," she replied. They engaged in hand-to-hand combat, because neither of them felt motivated to go find things to hit each other with. Axel was much better at this fighting than Xaeli, and he beat her time and time again. After a while, they both got tired and plopped down on the sand.

"Man, I'm beat," Axel sighed.

"Yeah, me too," Xaeli replied, stretching and laying down in the warm sand.

"I'm hungry," he said.

"Same," she agreed. "Let's go get some food." She summoned a portal into Twilight Town. The two walked through and exited in an alleyway near the Tram Common area. They walked over to a small deli and each ordered a sandwich. Axel led the way up to the clock tower for them to eat. They ate in silence, and when they were finished Xaeli took them back to the beach.

"Here," Axel said, tossing her a stick. The girl caught it with ease. Axel's eyes widened. "Get behind me, Xaeli," he warned while summoning his chakrams.

"Why? What's wrong?" she asked, confused.

"Just do it!" he barked. She ran around him and stood behind, looking past him and seeing a group of Heartless settling behind where she had been.

"Oh…" she said. He lunged at the dark little creatures, attacking them with fire and metal, causing them to dissipate. The more Heartless he fought off, the more appeared. He was fighting one after another, and Xaeli only wished she could help. Axel took a quick glance in her direction and his eyes widened yet again.

"Xaeli, behind you!" he yelled, attacking another Heartless. She whipped around to find a green and pink flower shaped Heartless growing up behind her. She found herself suddenly wishing for a bigger stick.

"What do I do?" she yelled, dodging a seed the Heartless spit at her.

"Don't get hit!" he yelled while dodging a fireball.

She tried to hit one of the seeds back at the Heartless, but the projectile snapped her stick in half and clipped her shoulder. She yelled in pain.

"I thought I told you NOT to get hit!" Axel yelled at her, tossing one of his chakrams at the Heartless, effectively killing it.

"Sorry!" she apologized while watching a Heartless wearing armor pop up in front of her. The Heartless moved toward her, and she had no choice but to run. "Now would be a REALLY great time for a weapon to magically appear in my hand!"

The Heartless followed Xaeli quickly, its armor clanking together as it ran. She fled across the sand in a desperate attempt to escape the enemy. An unseen rock tripped the girl, and she rolled forward, somersaulting into the water. She stood and turned to run further inland, but was struck down by the claws of the Heartless. She screamed in pain, and scrambled back as the enemy took another slash at her. Her hand connected with a large branch, and she lifted the weapon, making contact with the armor-clad creature's side. The Heartless was knocked back, giving Xaeli ample time to stand and run onto solid ground. She turned to face her attacker.

The armored Heartless ran toward her, claws reaching out to slice into her skin. She swung the branch, missing the enemy by mere centimeters. The creature swung its claws at her, the tips sliding through her hair. She swung again, connecting with the helmet atop its head. The Heartless fell over, and she swung again. The armored boot collided with her shin before she hit, and she fell to the ground. She grunted on impact, and rolled to avoid a swipe of its claws. As she moved to stand, she felt the rush of air coming toward her, saw a clawed hand flying toward her face, and prepared for the impact. The fact that the contact never came almost surprised her, until she remembered her defensive ability. She took the opportunity to stand and strike the Heartless on the head, knocking it to the ground once more. She raised her weapon and struck again, connecting with the creature's shoulder. The armor-clad Heartless dissipated, having been killed.

Xaeli wiped the sweat and sand from her face and looked for Axel. She saw him fighting against a group of Heartless clad in green with silver helmets and white claws. Appalled at the site, she immediately sprang to action, heading toward the battle. She jumped over the swarm of attackers, ready to fight alongside her mentor.

"What are you doing? You don't have a weapon to use!" he asked her, shooting a flame at an oncoming Heartless.

"I don't care! I'm going to help you kill these things," she replied, swinging at a Heartless. The creature flew back, knocking over a few of its comrades.

"You're going to get hurt," he said. One of the Heartless swiped its claws at him, and he quickly moved out of the way.

"I'll be fine!" she yelled, having just been kicked in the side by one of the many Heartless.

Axel didn't answer her verbally. He nodded, keeping his eyes on the Heartless before him. Xaeli was kicked from behind, and she fell forward into the group of Heartless at her front. She rolled away from their feet and sprang to her own, readying a swing. A set of claws scraped across her leg, and she saw one of the plain black Heartless that had attacked her that first day. She swung her branch, colliding with the creature's arm. The yellow-eyed thing recoiled and sank into the ground. She turned back to face Axel, but was swiped yet again across the back by a set of claws. She whipped around, swinging her weapon, but the creature was already in the ground, moving away from her. She pursued, and whacked the attacker just as it rose from the sand, catching its ear. She swung again, killing the creature. She stopped a moment to catch her breath.

While Xaeli was trying to calm her breathing, the back of her knee was kicked and she fell to the ground. She looked up and saw three of the Heartless in green kicking at her, and braced for the impact. The Heartless stumbled slightly at the lack of contact, and she rolled away. They kicked at her again, but once again she prepared for the contact and avoided it. She used the opportunity to swing her weapon up at their heads, but the armor of the first hit snapped the branch, rendering it useless. She tried to roll away, but the boots of the creatures collided with her side. She readied herself for another round of kicks, and the Heartless stumbled once again when their kicks met blank space. She rolled further away, but found herself in the water. "Oh, no!" she cried. "If I roll any further, I won't be able to breathe!" She braced for another set of kicks, and one caught her on the leg. "Axel!" she yelled in a desperate attempt. She looked up, hoping to see a chakram spinning her way, but instead saw him surrounded in the green-clad Heartless.

Xaeli clenched her eyes shut and braced her entire body for any impact that may come, and felt nothing for a few seconds. Suddenly, a weight materialized into her right hand. Her eyes flew open and looked at the object in her grasp. It was a black sword, lined in purple.* She swung the blade, hitting one of the Heartless in the center of the neck, killing it. She was kicked once, but managed to stand and slice apart the other two attackers. Without enemies now, she ran back to help Axel, slicing at whatever enemies came her way. She fought her way through the swarm, being kicked and clawed at, until she and Axel had killed the mass of attackers.

The two of them fell to the ground, exhausted from the fight. Xaeli turned to look at Axel.

"I finally got my weapon," she laughed. She held up the sword for him to see.

"Hmm, it's alright, I guess," he smirked at her.

"Alright? It's awesome!" she cried indignantly. A sharp pain erupted in her back, and she remembered the reason they were lying in the dirt.

"We should RTC and heal up," Axel said, standing. He extended a hand, which she took. Xaeli summoned a portal to the Castle, and they walked through. On their walk back, Xaeli stumbled a few times from the scratches on her legs, but Axel caught her and she never hit the ground.

Back at the Castle That Never Was, the two were greeted by a very worried Demyx.

"Oh my god, WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU TWO?" he yelled, eyes wide in shock.

"Heartless, Demyx, Heartless," Axel replied. "Where's Vexen?"

"He's in his lab, I think. You guys have to tell me what happened later!" he yelled as they walked, or limped, rather, away toward Vexen's lab. When they reached the door, Xaeli knocked cautiously.

"Come in," the man's voice answered from the other side of the door. Xaeli turned the knob, and the two stepped inside. Vexen was standing at a lab table, focused on staring into a microscope.

"Number IV, sir, we need medical attention…" Axel stated, formally. The blonde man looked up from his studies, and his eyes widened slightly.

"I would say so," he replied, stepping away from the microscope. "What exactly happened to you two?"

"We were attacked by Heartless in Twilight Town," Axel replied. "There were Dire Plants, Soldiers, Scarlet Tangos, and Deserters."

"My, my, quite the army you two fought," the scientist remarked, grabbing a medical kit. He cleaned, stitched, and wrapped all of their injuries and gave them each a packet of pain medication. "Use it sparingly," he said, ushering the two out.

"That was an interesting day," Xaeli mused, wincing slightly from the pain in her leg.

"Yeah," Axel agreed, scratching the back of his head. "Come on, we have to go tell Demyx about it before he bites our heads off."

"Do you think we should wait till Roxas and Xion get back? They'll want to know, too," she asked.

"You're right. I don't want to explain it twice," he agreed. They walked to the Gray Room and waited for their friends to return from their mission.

Yayyy! Longest chapter I've ever written, I think! I know it's still short, but hey, be happy it's this long at least. I'm sorry this took so long to get out. I was very distracted. Anyway, I have Xaeli's sword drawn. Here's a link to it on Photobucket: http:/i921. photobucket. com/albums/ad53/ryannsmith3/Drawings/Air/XaedisBlade. jpg [You have to remove the spaces, of course.] I've had that sword drawn since like the second chapter, I just haven't been able to decide when to put it in. Anyway, please tell me what you think! :D Oh, and if someone would be willing to draw Xaeli for me, I'd really, REALLY, appreciate it. You'll go under my awesome list, and I'll make you my first favorite author. :D [Thank you to Getsemone for drawing her c: Sadly I lost the link D: If you could resend I'd really appreciate it! :D]

Update..3/26/11: Changed the name again, fixed a thing or two. Also, I started chapter 10 a while back, but I don't know if I like where I started with it. So, I might work on that. Sooo yeah, if you have any ideas where I could take this story, please, do let me know! Reviews are always appreciated :D


	10. Author's Update

Author's notice, March 4, 2010: I apologize for taking so long to update. I promise I'll get to work shortly and continue my stories. But first, I'm going to go back through all the chapters and do some revising and editing. This way, I can improve on what's already been done, and I can get a feel of where I left off, all at the same time! If you have any suggestions or comments, please let me know in either a review or a private message! I look forward to getting back to writing!

Oh, and one more thing. I've changed my pen-name from Jellicle-Wishes to BreakBeauty. Hope I don't cause too much confusion! :]

UPDATE, APRIL 29, 2010: Okay, so, I got distracted from writing. That's really the only reason I have for you, is that, I just got distracted from writing. I have TONS of free time, so I'm gonna try and start writing, but, I have issues keeping on task most of the time, so, bear with me please. I've decided to skip the editing until I finish the stories, but, I do plan to go back and read them all so I remember what I wrote, haha. Anyway, off to trudge through my writings once more! :D


End file.
